Red Begonias

Chapter 1: The First Petals

~Lance’s POV~

It’s been about a week since Keith rejected me and I’ve been more depressed than ever. I’ve already relapsed with self harm and now I’m starving myself. I’ve been almost five days without food and yet, I feel nothing.

I bolt out of bed to the alarms going off. I run and quickly put on my armor, running to my Lion. I got into the pilot seat and meet up with the rest of the group. One large Galran cruiser surrounded by fighters. They noticed us and we flew into battle.

Halfway through the battle, I started coughing but brushed it off as nothing. We formed Voltron and Keith formed the sword. We all worked together, cutting through the cruiser and letting it explode before we flew back to the castle, separating into our lions. I coughed violently, managing to land Blue before removing my helmet, covering my mouth with my hand as I coughed. I felt something flutter into the palm of my hand and looked down to see a red petal sitting in the middle of my palm. I take a shakey breath and close my hand around the petal, walking to go remove my gear. I shove the petal into my pocket, walking to the lounge. Everyone looked at me momentarily before continuing their conversation. Keith was cuddled into Shiro’s side while Shiro’s metal arm rested around the smaller male. I take a deep breath and back out of the lounge, unable to bring myself to be a seventh wheel.

I went to my room and sat on my bed, examining the petal in my hands. I looked up what it was and discovered that it was the petal of a red begonia. The begonia means beware… maybe it’s a warning that Keith is dangerous for me. Who knows. I throw the petal away and lay back in bed, covering my eyes with my arm. Before I knew it, I had fallen asleep.

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I woke up to someone knocking at my door. I groan, getting out of bed as I coughed into my fist, opening the door. I was greeted by Hunk who held a tray of cookies.

“Hey Lance.” He says, smiling softly. I smile back and glance at the tray in his hands.

“Hey Hunk, what’s up?” I ask.

“I made cookies and I was wondering if you wanted any.” He says. I smile lightly.

“No thanks. I’m not feel too good.” I say.

“Okay. Feel better soon buddy.”

“I’ll try.” I whisper, stepping back from my door as it slid closed. I take in a shakey breath before coughing into my fist. A second petal made its way to the ground and I picked it up quickly, throwing it away with the one I coughed up earlier. This wasn’t good. I was told stories about this disease when I was younger. The Hanahaki Disease. A fatal disease caused by unrequited love. The only known cures were either to have the other person confess their true feelings about you, or have the flowers surgically removed from the diseased person’s lungs. But this also removed the feelings for the beloved. There was no way I was gonna get the surgery so I guess I’ll die. I’ve got about five months and twenty-nine days now.

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Chapter 1! There ya go! Hope you enjoyed!

Luv y'all,
Erin Jaeger